


Till Death Do Us Part (And Beyond)

by laireshi



Category: Marvel 616, New Avengers (Comics)
Genre: Blood, Happy Ending, M/M, Vampire Steve Rogers, Vampires, this is actually rather sweet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-03
Updated: 2016-09-03
Packaged: 2018-08-12 20:35:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,213
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7948144
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/laireshi/pseuds/laireshi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Never let it be said anyone is more stubborn than Tony Stark, especially when he has to bring Steve home.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Till Death Do Us Part (And Beyond)

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for beta to [morphia](http://archiveofourown.org/users/morphia/pseuds/morphia) :) 
> 
> This is written for Cap-IM Tiny Reverse Bang Round 11: Kree, with [really really awesome art](http://capim-tinybang.tumblr.com/post/149550774732/title-the-alluring-scent-of-iron-artist-massive) by [Wren](http://stonypathoffandom.tumblr.com/). (The original piece is currently lying on my desk and I love it.)
> 
> Also a fill for the "au: fairy tale creatures" square of my bingo card.

Steve’s barely a darker silhouette in the dimly-lit room; Tony could miss him, if his eyes weren’t shining, blood red, dangerous.

“You won’t hurt me,” Tony says, lacing his voice with conviction he doesn’t exactly feel. “I’m not scared of you.” This is true, at least. 

“Then you’re an idiot,” Steve snarls. He doesn’t move, stays unnaturally still. There’s a lot of things wrong with this picture, and Extremis is telling Tony every single one of them, starting with how Steve doesn’t actually register as alive in Tony’s sensors. 

He’s there, a bit colder than his surroundings. There’s no heartbeat, no breath; Steve’s not blinking nor shifting his stance at all. When he’s not speaking, he looks like a monument. 

“I have a healing factor,” Tony says. Enough that he can withstand some blood loss.

“Not that good you don’t,” Steve says. “Leave.”

“Make me,” Tony taunts.

Steve moves; Tony almost takes a step back but manages to rein in his reaction. He mentally rewinds what’s just happened, slows down the Extremis recording of his own memories until he can see Steve taking the few steps to the middle of the room, a proof he walked and not teleported. Steve always moved fast, and Tony’s used to working with Quicksilver. It’s unsettling nevertheless, another reminder that Steve is not human anymore.

“Not scared,” Steve repeats. He must’ve seen how Tony tensed for a moment.

Of course he saw it. He probably _smelt_ it, even.

“I talked to Strange,” Tony says.

“There’s no magic solution to this, Tony,” Steve says.

“No,” Tony agrees, “there isn’t.”

“Then what are you doing here?” Steve sounds tired. 

Tony looks around, as if he hasn’t already catalogued every detail of the room, from the dusty furniture to the old candelabra at the ceiling to the broken mirror in which he can see his own reflection—but not Steve’s.

And then, of course, as if it all didn’t look like it was taken straight out of a gothic horror anyway, there are the metal bars separating the room in half. They’re covered in silver, but Tony sees parts where the protective layer peeled off.

Steve could break them, if he wanted to. 

“My job comes with a certain amount of hope,” Tony says. “Let’s say it’s only fuelled by the fact you’re actually here.”

“Where else can I go?” Steve asks. “I already hurt people. At least here—”

“ _Home_ ,” Tony interrupts. “You could—no, you _should_ go home.”

“One could argue this is my home now.”

Tony inhales, exhales. “It’s not,” he says.

Steve reaches out to him, stops with his hand almost touching the silver bars. “It’s not,” he agrees quietly. 

“Then what are we even _doing_ here,” Tony snaps. He wants to burn the place to the ground, really, break down the walls with his bare hands and light a match to it. He wants to kill the vampire who did it to Steve, really, but that’s no longer possible, so he thinks destroying his home is the second best thing.

“I can tell you your heart rate,” Steve whispers. “You smell different to others—Extremis, right. It’s all I can think of when you are _not_ here, and now—Tony, _leave_.”

“I am _not_ giving up on you,” Tony tells him. “And you can’t out stubborn me on this one.”

“I have all eternity now,” Steve answers. “I think I can.”

Tony sighs, frustrated. “Strange said you can control it,” he says. “That—it only gets really bad if you don’t drink.”

Steve stares at him. “I’d never thought you’d encourage someone to drink,” he says, slowly, deliberately, and this time Tony does take a step back. He knows exactly what Steve’s doing now, but he can’t help the sudden, sharp hurt behind his heart.

Steve looks like he wants to apologise, for a split second.

 _It comes down to willpower_ , Strange told Tony. _Captain Rogers always seemed to have lots of it. He needs blood, but he’s not inherently a monster._

(Tony didn’t need any sorcerer to tell him that. Steve will always remain _Steve_.)

Still, they do have a problem to overcome here.

“So,” he says, “you won’t come back with me?”

“I can’t risk hurting anyone else,” Steve says.

They’ve all been mind-controlled before. Tony killed people. He hurt people when he was drunk. He’s not a stranger to guilt.

He saw the bodies, after Steve first disappeared, and he won’t forget, but he knows Steve was not at fault.

“Okay,” he says. “Congrats. I’m out stubborned.”

He doesn’t look to see Steve’s reaction. Instead he reaches into his pocket, takes out the spring knife—

He only cuts through his finger, and he wills Extremis not to heal it immediately—

Steve moves back, away, and Tony grits his teeth and cuts through his palm, easy and straight, until there’s enough blood Steve _can’t_ fight it.

Steve breaks the bars with his bare hands, hisses in pain at the touch of silver, and Tony almost feels guilty, but Steve _could have just gone with him_.

Then Tony’s back hits the floor, Steve on him, pressing him down, and Tony fights off the wave of panic and locks the undersuit firmly in his bones. He doesn’t need his armour here, quite the contrary, he needs—it almost doesn’t hurt, when Steve’s lips find Tony’s neck and he bites.

It’s almost like donating blood, Tony thinks, light-headed; he’s willing and it’s to help Steve, so it’s okay. 

Extremis flashes warnings at Tony along with information on how quick his armour could reach him, and Tony ignores it all.

Steve’s weight isn’t quite reassuring, but it’s not threatening; Tony feels his tongue on his own neck and oh, that brings entirely different memories to mind, but mostly he just feels like Steve’s the only other person in the world, surrounding Tony from every side. Slowly, Steve seems to warm up, his lips no longer icy cold against Tony’s skin.

Tony thinks he’s quite content, all things considered.

Then, Steve jumps away, making a terrified little noise.

“Wait,” Tony orders before he can think.

He lets Extremis healing kick in, slowly sits up. He doesn’t try to stand, and his own movements seem sluggish to him, but he’s fine. _He’s fine_. 

“ _Do you see now_ ,” Steve grits out.

“That you won’t hurt me?” Tony asks. “Yes. I do.” He touches his neck gingerly; it hurts, but not as much as he’d suspected it would. “You stopped. You stopped on your own.”

“Because it’s you!” Steve yells. “I can’t—”

“Then trust me to keep you safe!”

Tony’s still a bit dizzy, but maybe . . . He picks himself up, carefully, and maybe sways a bit theatrically. 

He doesn’t fall. Steve’s arms are around him, holding him up. 

He doesn’t bite Tony again, even though his eyes are trained on Tony’s neck.

“See?” Tony asks.

Steve’s tongue darts out over his lips. “Just to make sure you get to the Tower safely,” he says. “And—I’ll go.”

“Sure you will,” Tony says happily, leaning on Steve much more heavily than he really needs to. He doesn’t even protest as Steve lifts him up.

There’s one thing Steve’s always most stubborn about, and it’s taking care of Tony.

Tony smiles into Steve’s chest.


End file.
